Hate That I Love You

“Hey Rory.” Called Ronnie as I left the little room in which I occupied to use the phone. I lifted my gaze to him and weakly smiled, sleep had gotten the better of me.

“Hey Ronnie, did you sleep well?” I asked, collapsing down next to him on the couch. The couch moved under my weight.

“Yes, very well, better then I do in the bunks.” He winked at me, I weakly smiled again and turned away, to avoid embarrassment. He pulled on my shoulder to bring my attention back to him.

“How did you sleep?”

I paused, turned back to him under his force and looked him straight in the face.

“Well…” I averted my gaze, smiling as my eyes stared at the floor.

“What are you smiling at?”

I looked back over to Ronnie.

“Oh, nothing.”

“HEEEEEEEEEELLLLLO FRIENDS!” called max as he stomped through the house. He slid past Ronnie and I on his socks, which found it hard to grip the floorboards. Ronnie and I stared at Max wide eyed, watching him carefully to make sure he wasn’t going to break something, most of all himself. Max paused, and turned back to us, sliding back and stopping in front of us. I relaxed in the seat while Max observed us closely.

“Hmm, Your not Bryan? Where is the other half of the couple?” Max turned to me, I tried to sink deeper into the couch, but the couch was too stubborn to let me sink. Ronnie turned to me as well, both of them had questioning glances. I froze, and looked around, unable to answer the question.

“Uh, he’s…still sleeping.” I nodded.

“You tired him out?” Max asked, turning to Ronnie and laughing with him, nudging his shoulder as he did. I turned four different shades of red, and now wished I hadn’t got up at all. Damn this stubborn couch, it should be more swallowing. I just wanted something to come along and eat me, so that I didn’t have to hear the ridicule that Ronnie and Max said towards me and Bryan. I sighed, and sunk lower into the couch, sliding my legs along the ground.

“Oh, you afraid someone knows your secret?... They say sex isn’t silent.” Max laughed, rolling on the ground and clutching his stomach. I looked at him evilly, squinting my eyes.

“Fuck you’s” I said, getting up and walking away, unhappy.

“Oh Rory, we are joking!” I heard Ronnie call as I left the room, and went to find myself something to eat in the kitchen. I shuffled along, with my head hung low, hiding my face. As I entered the kitchen, I heard someone shuffling through the cupboards. I looked up at glanced at the familiar male searching the cupboards. I sneakily smiled and crept over to the male, quietly sneaking up behind him. I moved my hands to either side of the males waist, and forced my fingers into the juts between his ribs, giving him a jolt.

“FUCKING SHHHH!” he cried, jumping around, swinging his arms and knocking me on my arse. He forced himself up against the fridge, swiftly glancing around for a culprit.

“Fuck Bryan, what did you do that for?” I rubbed my cheek as leant on my elbows on the ground, sitting up. He looked down at me and smiled weakly, rubbing his arm and pulling himself away from the fridge.

“Why the hell did you scare me?” he asked, extending a hand to me to help get me up. I took the hand greedily and pulled myself to me feet.

“I thought it would have been funny. But I didn’t expect an elbow to the face.” I smiled, forcing myself into Bryan’s arms, resting my head against his chest.

“Did you ring Alex?” he rubbed the top of my head, occasionally kissing it.

“Yeah, I said we will see her in the afternoon.”

“Why not now? We aren’t doing anything?”

I looked over at the clock which was above the doorway that lead out to the lounge room. It was now around noon.

“She gets off in fifteen minutes, why not?” I smiled, pulling away from Bryan was leading myself up stairs the our room to get ready.

I looked at the house, it hadn’t changed from when I saw it last, but then again I hadn’t been gone very long. Alex’s car was out of the garage, which usually meant she had only just got home. But what I found was odd. Alex had two cars, hers and a dark Mercedes, one of the most expensive cars, I shrugged it off, figured she had a huge pay rise.

“This is her place, are you sure?” he pointed over to the dark Mercedes. “I recognize that car!” he lifted an eyebrow, pondering over the car.

“Really? Maybe its Alex’s new car, maybe she got a pay rise?”

“I doubt it, the car is very familiar, it looks like… my brothers, but then again, a lot of people by Mercedes.” He grasped my hand, we must have looked like idiots, standing out front of this small house, pointing at the car and whispering to ourselves. To any passer-bys we would have looked stuck-up. I glanced around, looking for any audiences who would have been interested in seeing new citizens in the neighborhood. But then again, they would have recognized me.

“Lets go and see her.” He smiled, pulling me into a kiss and walking in front of me up to the house, walking delicately on the newly washed foot path. Water droplets ran down towards the road, searching of a dirty space to clean. We approached the door, both of us looked at each other before knocking. I glared at the pot plants which hung from the little patio. I hadn’t expected Alex to keep them alive, but she did. I smiled at this, for when I lived with Alex, anything she had never survived more that a week, unless I made her take care of it.

“Coming…” there was a few mumbles from behind the door, obviously Alex’s new man hadn’t left yet. So maybe I will get to meet him.

“Who do you think that was?” Bryan nudged my side, whispering in my ear.

I shrugged.

The door opened and Bryan an I were faced with a flustered Alex. Her hair was a mess and her cheeks had a rosy complexion to them. Bryan and I glanced at each other before falling into a pit of laughter.

“Hey Rory!?” she ignored the laughter, and embraced me, happily. “How are you?” he pulled back, smiling. I got the feeling she couldn’t stop smiling, she was too happy to see me. Any other day she would have loved to not see me.

“Hey Alex, I’m good, a little tired…” I smiled back. Bryan just stood there.

“Oh, come on in…” she moved away from the passage to allow Bryan and I to walk into the house. She snapped the door closed behind us.
The house had been re-arranged, I wasn’t too shocked about it, but I couldn’t recognize the whole house, it had changed dramatically. I glanced around wide eyed.

“This is a nice house.” Bryan whispered.

“Hey Alex I…”
A tall dark male stomped through to the lounge, stopping in his tracks as he saw us. He dropped the contents of his hand and stared at Bryan wide eyed. I looked up to Bryan, he was motionless, his face was drained of all colour, and his lips quivered. I looked back at the ‘new man’ and recognized a factor. He looked a lot like Bryan, maybe it was coincidental, I shrugged it off.

“Hey Rory, this is the guy I was talking about.” She smiled, walking up behind us and wrapping her hands around the males waist.

“Bryan, do you know him?”

They still stood motionless.

“……Bryan?”

“….Mike?” Bryan replied